Conservatives Demand Bicameral Investigation into Benghazi

Burnt-out building at the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)

(CNSNews.com) - A group of conservative leaders is sending a letter to Congress on Wednesday demanding a bicameral investigation into the terrorist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11, 2012, stating that, thus far, congressional committees have “actually impeded the needed, comprehensive determination of the facts.”

“The focus of most after-action assessments and congressional testimony has, to date, centered more on altered talking points provided by the CIA and why Secretary Clinton and others ignored warnings from Ambassador Stevens regarding the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi,” reads an excerpt of the letter obtained by CNSNews.com.

“Relatively little light has been shed on the details of the decision-making process that resulted in the loss of four Americans without any real-time effort being made to bring forces to bear to protect our countrymen and secure their corpses,” it states. (See Congressional Benghazi Letter .pdf)

Among the signers of the letter, which is being sent to House and Senate leaders, include retired Army Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, the former commander of U.S. Special Forces Command and deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, and Sue Myrick, former congresswoman and co-chairman of the House Counterterrorism Caucus.

President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (AP)

Other signatories include: Kenneth Blackwell, former Secretary of State of Ohio; Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy; Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring; Andrew C. McCarthy, former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney; Admiral James A. Lyons, former Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet; and Thomas W. O’Connell, former Assistant Secretary of Defense, Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict.

“We must get to the bottom of whatever prevented the U.S. military from attempting a rescue and ensure that, whether it was a matter of inadequate military readiness or resources, dysfunctional interactions between various elements of the executive branch or other reasons, we take steps to ensure that this monumental failure is not repeated in the future,” the letter says. (See Congressional Benghazi Letter .pdf)

The terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi resulted in the murder of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Congress has held several hearings on the attack, but has not set up a joint select committee, which was used to probe the Watergate and Iran-Contra scandals.

“The multiple standing House and Senate committees with their stove-piped jurisdictions have actually impeded the needed, comprehensive determination of the facts,” states the letter.

“Therefore, we respectfully request that you immediately take steps to establish a bicameral investigative committee with subpoena and deposition powers and with the requisite staff needed to conduct such hearing as are necessary to prepare a truly authoritative and independent report as soon as possible," reads the letter.